Marty Zybura, acting deputy for acquisition and systems management, answers questions from ACMAs during the summit event on June 3, 2026, at USAASC headquarters on Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Photo by Stefanie Pidgeon, USAASC)
2026 ACMA Summit Success
by Jacqueline M. Hames
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (June 26, 2026) — Over 30 Army acquisition career development leaders met at a combination virtual and in-person conference at the United States Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) on June 3.
Army Acquisition Functional Advisors (AAFAs) representing the six functional areas and career advocates within major commands and organizations, known as Acquisition Career Management Advocates (ACMAs) came together to discuss key issues affecting the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) and share best practices from across the functional areas at the 2026 ACMA Summit.
“What a great opportunity to come here and see this really important workforce and hear about what’s going on,” Craig Zeitler, director, Army Civilian Career Management Activity commented during a break. Zeitler presented an overview of the Army Civilian Career Management Activity to attendees during the conference.
Karen Pane, director, Civilian Human Resources Agency, presented on the future of the Army civilian workforce and innovation during the summit. “What I found most valuable about the 2026 ACMA Summit was the opportunity to engage with acquisition professionals who are thinking about the future of our workforce and how we can continue to evolve alongside the Army’s modernization efforts,” she said.
President Bilyana Anderson, Warfighting Acquisition University, also presented during the summit. She spoke about workforce development and training as part of acquisition transformation. She said that attendance at the summit is “time well spent,” as it helps keep communication open among stakeholders and ultimately helps strengthen the workforce.
After hearing from guest speakers, attendees also received presentations from USAASC personnel and updates on what’s going on at headquarters. A central highlight of the summit was the AAFA/AAFL Panel Discussion, which brought five AAFA speakers and one Army Acquisition Functional Leader (AAFL) in to discuss issues of importance to the ACMAs. Panelists answered questions about how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts their functional areas; how the Acquisition Transformation Strategy guidance affects business processes and individual questions targeted at each AAFA’s functional area.
“We’re really trying to leverage AI in almost every aspect of our career field,” Colleen Sweeney, contracting AAFA and senior procurement analyst within the office of the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement said. “We’re doing a lot with building it into the contracting writing system and developing bots to support that process.” Using interactive gaming software, contracting professionals can be trained in a “risk-free” environment and better learn the complexities of the contracting environment, she added.
Stephen Loftus, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for cost and economics and Business – Cost Estimating (BUS-CE) AAFL, discussed “transformation” within the BUS-CE functional area. “Preparation and calculation. Success comes from meticulous planning,” he said quoting Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.”
However, he also cautioned the audience that they may need to become comfortable with answers that lack a bit of data—especially in Middle Tier of Acquisition—to field capabilities faster.
After the panel discussion concluded, Marty Zybura, acting deputy for acquisition and systems management, said: “I think the [AAFL/AAFA] panel today was very important, especially since we’re in a time of change.”
“With all the changes going on with acquisition transformation and the focus on getting capability to the field quicker, and how that’s affecting the workforce,” he added. “I think it was really important to have the panel today and be able to share those changes with the ACMAs.”
After the summit concluded, Pane said of the event: “The discussions highlighted the importance of innovation, emerging technologies, data-informed decision-making and the role of continuous learning in preparing our workforce for tomorrow’s mission requirements. The summit provides an opportunity to learn from experts, exchange ideas and gain insight into the trends shaping the future of the Army Acquisition Workforce.”
“Most importantly, it reinforces that our people remain our greatest advantage, and that investing in their growth, skills and development is essential to building the workforce of the future,” Pane said.
For more information, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/dacm-office/.
JACQUELINE M. HAMES is an editor with Behind The Frontlines. She holds a B.A. in creative writing from Christopher Newport University. She has more than 17 years of experience writing and editing news and feature articles for publication.
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